Files
PaperClipAI/server
Dotta 1a17cbf232 fix(runtime-exposure): mediate leased app/HMR port pairs centrally (#11526)
<!-- Simplified Technical English (ASD-STE100). -->

> **Stacked pull request.** This targets #11525, which targets #11524.
Merge those first. Review only the last commit, `fix(runtime-exposure):
mediate leased app/HMR port pairs centrally`.

## Thinking Path

> - Paperclip is the open source app people use to manage AI agents for
work
> - Paperclip starts managed runtime services for execution workspaces,
and #11524 and #11525 make those services reachable over Tailscale HTTPS
on a loopback port pair
> - An HTTPS lane is only safe if one execution workspace holds its port
pair exclusively for the whole life of the lane
> - A managed start reused a pair that a stopped but still leased
workspace owned. Paperclip reported that workspace stopped and its
exposure removed, while the host listeners and the Serve mappings for
those ports were live and belonged to an unrelated workspace
> - The cause is that ownership was decided in more than one place, and
no single place saw persisted reservations, live listeners, and Serve
mappings together
> - This pull request adds one mediator that owns the decision, and
makes every mismatch fail closed while naming the conflicting workspace
> - The benefit is that a later start cannot collide with, adopt, or
interfere with another issue's service, and cannot produce security
evidence attributed to the wrong workspace

## Linked Issues or Issue Description

No public GitHub issue exists. The change follows the bug report
template.

**What happened**

A managed HTTPS start reused the loopback port pair of a stopped but
still exclusively leased execution workspace. The ports were then held
by an unrelated workspace. Paperclip continued to report the first
workspace's runtime as stopped and its exposure as removed, while the
host listeners and the `tailscale serve` mappings for those exact ports
were live and owned by the other workspace.

**Expected behavior**

An active execution-workspace lease reserves its app and HMR pair until
the lease is explicitly released or torn down. A start that finds the
pair held by a different workspace fails closed and names the conflict.
Paperclip never adopts a process or a Serve mapping across
execution-workspace ids.

**Root cause**

Three separate readers each had an incomplete view:

- `deprovisionExposure` replaces the exposure status with a fresh
`removed` status whose `listeners` array is empty. A later reader asking
"which ports did this row own?" gets no answer, so a stopped row's pair
looked free even while the row was leased.
- Startup reconciliation adopted a persisted service by `row.port`
alone, then terminated the local service when its health check failed.
Under the `project_primary` strategy, where workspaces share a working
directory, the containment check cannot separate two workspaces, so the
sweep could adopt and then kill an unrelated workspace's live service.
- Allocation checked live port availability but never checked which
pairs active leases still reserve.

**Impact**

Two workspaces can collide on one lane. A start can adopt or interfere
with another issue's service, and evidence about an exposure can be
attributed to the wrong workspace.

## What Changed

- Add `server/src/services/runtime-exposure/port-reservation.ts`, one
mediator that decides allocation and ownership from persisted
reservations plus live listener and Serve ownership together.
- Reserve a pair for as long as its execution workspace holds an active
lease, until the lease is explicitly released or torn down.
- Re-derive a row's pair from the `port` column and `deriveViteHmrPort`
instead of the status `listeners` array, so a `removed` status no longer
hides which ports a leased row still reserves.
- Refuse to adopt a process or a Serve mapping across
execution-workspace ids. A mismatch fails closed and names the
conflicting workspace and issue.
- Treat an unattributable holder as a conflict. A Serve mapping that is
present but cannot be attributed means the host has something there that
could not be named, so it fails closed instead of falling through to
"allowed".
- Make reconciliation surface a stopped or removed row whose reserved
ports are live or mapped by another workspace, instead of reporting
success.
- Leave manual and unknown Serve mappings alone on release and teardown.

## Verification

- `npx vitest run --root server src/services/runtime-exposure/
src/__tests__/workspace-runtime-exposure-reservation.test.ts
src/services/workspace-runtime-exposure-backfill.test.ts` — 8 files,
**112 tests pass**.
- `npx tsc --noEmit -p server/tsconfig.json` — **0 errors** with
`@paperclipai/plugin-sdk` built.
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/db typecheck` — migration numbering and
safety checks pass.
- `pnpm --filter @paperclipai/tailscale-https-broker test` — 87 tests
pass.

The five required regressions are covered by
`workspace-runtime-exposure-reservation.test.ts` and
`port-reservation.test.ts`:

1. Reuse of a stopped-but-leased pair is denied.
2. Cross-execution-workspace process adoption is denied.
3. A Serve mapping ownership mismatch is visible and fails closed.
4. Concurrent allocators return unique pairs.
5. Release and teardown make the pair reusable without harming manual or
unknown mappings.

Note for reviewers:
`server/src/services/workspace-runtime-exposure.test.ts` fails on a
development host that already runs an HTTPS canary holding ports 42000,
42001, 52000, and 52001, because that fixture stubs port availability
and then allocates into the occupied range. It is unaffected by this
change and is expected to pass in CI, where no such listener exists.
Please read the CI result rather than a local run on an exposing host.

## Risks

- The mediator is now the single decision point for allocation and
adoption, so a defect in it affects every managed start. This is
deliberate: the incident happened because the decision was spread across
three readers, and concentrating it is the fix.
- Behavior becomes stricter. A start that previously reused a pair now
fails closed with a named conflict. This is the intended change, and it
can surface pre-existing collisions that used to pass silently.
- The remediation path does not stop an unrelated service that already
holds a pair. It reports the conflict instead, so it cannot disturb
another issue's running lane.
- No migration runs in this pull request.

> For core feature work, check [`ROADMAP.md`](ROADMAP.md) first and
discuss it in `#dev` before opening the PR.

## Model Used

Claude Opus 5 (`claude-opus-5`), 1M context window, extended thinking,
with tool use and code execution.

## Checklist

- [x] I have included a thinking path that traces from project context
to this change
- [x] I have specified the model used (with version and capability
details)
- [x] I have checked ROADMAP.md and confirmed this PR does not duplicate
planned core work
- [x] I have searched GitHub for duplicate or related PRs and linked
them above
- [x] I have either (a) linked existing issues with `Fixes: #` / `Closes
#` / `Refs #` OR (b) described the issue in-PR following the relevant
issue template
- [x] I have not referenced internal/instance-local Paperclip issues or
links (only public GitHub `#NNN` / `github.com/paperclipai/paperclip`
URLs)
- [x] My branch name describes the change (e.g. `docs/...`, `fix/...`)
and contains no internal Paperclip ticket id or instance-derived details
- [x] I have run tests locally and they pass
- [x] I have added or updated tests where applicable
- [x] I have updated relevant documentation to reflect my changes
- [x] I have considered and documented any risks above
- [ ] All Paperclip CI gates are green
- [ ] Greptile is 5/5 with no open P2s, recommendations, or follow-ups
- [x] I will address all Greptile and reviewer comments before
requesting merge
2026-08-17 06:47:55 -04:00
..